Indian beer brand Bira 91 secures $30m investment from Kirin Holdings

Indian craft beer brand Bira 91 has secured $30m investment from Japanese integrated beverages company Kirin Holdings.

With this investment, the Japanese beverage company acquired a stake of less than 10% in Bira 91’s parent company B9 Beverages.

The investment is Kirin’s first in India and should support the company in establishing its presence in the Indian beer market.

Currently, Bira 91 has a presence across various cities in India including Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Pune and Chandigarh.

It operates four breweries in India and has a presence across nine countries.

The company plans to use the latest infusion for business expansion as well as working capital.

Bira 91’s portfolio includes five beer varieties including White, Blonde, Light, Strongand and ‘The IPA (India Pale Ale)’.

In May 2018, Bira 91 raised $50m through a funding round led by Belgian investment firm Sofina.

The investment was aimed at strengthening Bira 91’s global footprint with expansion in the US market, as well as in the Asia Pacific, including Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

At the time, Bira 91 also said that it will use that funding to expand its production capacity from the existing 350,000 to 2,000,000 barrels per annum.

Similarly, in 2016, the craft beer maker received $6m in a funding round from a group of investors led by Sequoia Capital.

Sequoia Capital first made the investment in the alcoholic beverage sector.

The venture capital firm earlier invested in the Paperboat branded soft drinks firm Hector Beverages.